Cefalu resigns from LTUSD board effective immediately

By Kathryn Reed

The abrupt resignation Tuesday of Judy Cefalu from the Lake Tahoe Unified School District board upstaged everything else on the agenda.

Not even board President Wendy David was given a heads-up about the letter written by Cefalu. That letter was addressed to Superintendent Jim Tarwater.

Reached at home by Lake Tahoe News on Tuesday, Cefalu didn’t believe her departure mid-term was newsworthy even though the electorate voted her in for a four-year term. She had nothing to say to them.

“I just think it was time we have someone else come in. It’s as simple as that,” Cefalu said. She thinks new, younger ideas are what the board needs at this point.

She mentioned she would soon be turning 74, and that it would be good to pass the baton onto someone younger.

Her resignation is immediate. She did not attend the June 26 meeting.

The board discussed Cefalu’s resignation in closed and open sessions. The board has 60 days to appoint someone to fill the remainder of the term that expires in December 2013.

As in the past when there has been a vacancy, the board conducts interviews in open session and makes the decision in open session.

Cefalu only had good things to say about the board, administration and district as a whole.

In other action, the board approved the 2012-13 budget.